Indian food is ordered to the middle of the table, not as separate plates. For two people this works well: one curry, one grill dish, one naan and one rice.
Heat is balanced with dairy, not water. A cucumber raita or a buttery dal calms a vindaloo faster than any drink.
First visit: butter chicken or korma for mild, tikka masala for the middle, vindaloo for hot. A biryani is a complete dish on its own — it needs no rice beside it.
Sides make the meal rather than weigh it down. Poppadoms and pickled onions to start, a cucumber or pomegranate raita beside the mains, a bhatura for anyone who wants something other than naan — sharp, crisp and cool against the sauce. Order them at the start, not as an afterthought.
To drink, a hot chai keeps up with the spice better than most people expect, and in the evening a cocktail, a beer or a glass of wine sits well beside anything off the tandoor. Ask at the table what we have that day.
And leave room for dessert. A warm Gulab Jamun, a Kheer or a Rasmalai closes the meal exactly right — sweet, small and cooling after the heat.